he makes all things new.
New is great. New sounds like potential and opportunity…unless I think about it too much. Then it sounds like change and the unknown. When we started this new year, on of the things I promised myself is that instead of fearing the unknown I will choose to hope in the known. So what is known about NEW? What do I know to be true that I can securely place my hope in? I do know this — that God is the author of new. And since He authors every good and perfect thing, (James 1:17), I can trust that this new year will bring good with it.
New is one of God’s promises to us, and we know that all of His promises are fulfilled in Jesus (2 Corinthians 1:20). And as believers, our hope ultimately rests in the promise that Christ will come back for us one day and make all things new.
Revelation 21:5 NLT says,
5 And the one sitting on the throne said, “Look, I am making everything new!” And then he said to me, “Write this down, for what I tell you is trustworthy and true.”
But what about the here and now? What can I hope for today, tomorrow, and every other day? Luckily, the Word of God is full of examples that show us how God makes things new for His glory and for the good of his people.
So, how does He make things new?
He Restores.
I think I love God most for His ability to restore. He restores us to a right relationship with him through the gift of forgiveness and justification. He is able to restore earthly relationships. And He can even restore days and years that have been lost to the effects of sin.
Joel 2:24 NLT says,
24 The Lord says, “I will give you back what you lost…”
That has to be greatest evidence of the extravagant nature of God’s mercy. Not only can He renew a life and redeem its future, but he can also redeem its past.
In Genesis, we see God’s power of restoration countless times. When Jacob was finally reunited with his lost son, Joseph, he described certain days of his life as “few and evil” (Genesis 47:9). But in his last days, through God’s mercy, Jacob was able to look back on his life and see that God had been his shepherd all along and that he had been redeemed from the evil that once marked his life. So much so, he was even able to bless his sons before his passing.
Genesis 48:15-16 ESV says,
15 … “The God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked,
the God who has been my shepherd all my life long to this day,
16 the angel who has redeemed me from all evil, bless the boys;
Likewise, in the New Testament, we see Jesus live a life of restoration. He restores sight to the blind, the ability to walk to the crippled, hearing to the deaf, and new clean skin to the diseased. Jesus didn’t just heal a condition. He restored life, security, and hope to broken people.
What is another way He makes all things new?
2. He Renames.
Names carry a lot of significance in Scripture. Throughout the Bible, people are introduced to us by name and by the meaning of their name. Eve was “the mother of all the living,” Isaac was “laughter,” and Samuel was “asked of God”.
What’s even more significant is the renaming of people in Scripture. When God gave someone a new name, it was always a sign of renewed purpose and a redeemed life. God changed Abram’s name to Abraham to signify His promise to make him the father of many (Genesis 17:5). Even Jacob, whose names once meant “supplanter”-one who to takes the place of another, God changed it to Israel. Who became the people and country of Israel that we know today. We also see in the New Testament that Simon became Peter, and Saul became Paul when they became Jesus’ disciples. They received new identities in Christ as they abandon their life in the flesh.
While we may not actually receive new names when we become Christ-followers, we certainly receive new identities.
Isaiah 43:1 ESV (and one of my favorite verses) says,
1 “Fear not, for I have redeemed you;
I have called you by name, you are mine.
So as I look to the future, I can trust and hope in my identity in Christ. I know that, no matter how I fail, God’s mercies are new every morning. He has made me worthy of my name and called me His in Christ.
And lastly…
3. He Resurrects.
God makes dead things alive again. Literally. He has power over death in every sense, and He demonstrated that to us when He raised Jesus from the grave. The Bible says that, as believers, we have that exact same power dwelling in us. It’s what gives life to our dead souls!
Romans 8:11 NIV says,
11 And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you.
I can get so easily discouraged when I think about all the times I’ve failed and given in to temptation -just in the last week. I am not the only one with anger problems… And this discouragement makes the idea of fighting this battle for another year of life seem overwhelming. But this truth, that I have the same power that raised Christ from the grave dwelling in me, gives me great hope. If I lay down my weak, flawed mistakes every day, I can trust that God will resurrect it with new life and new grace.
The season of NEW is here! Maybe you started off the year strong but are starting to feel somber as month two of 2021 comes to an end. Let’s continue committing to hope in God’s power to make things new. He restores lost time, gives new identities, and creates new life. He offers renewed mercy to His own with each day. He promises good plans for his people, plans that include a hopeful future.
Song of Solomon 2: 10-13 TPT says,
Arise, my dearest. Hurry, my darling.
Come away with me!
I have come as you have asked
to draw you to my heart and lead you out.
For now is the time, my beautiful one.
11 The season has changed,
the bondage of your barren winter has ended,
and the season of hiding is over and gone.
The rains have soaked the earth
12 and left it bright with blossoming flowers.
The season for singing and pruning the vines has arrived.
I hear the cooing of doves in our land,
filling the air with songs to awaken you
and guide you forth.
13 Can you not discern this new day of destiny
breaking forth around you?
The early signs of my purposes and plans
are bursting forth.
The budding vines of new life
are now blooming everywhere.
So, rather than seeing the unknown to be feared, my prayer is that I can trust in God’s sovereignty. There will be new blessings, new trials, new failures, and new victories, but His goodness will guard them all.
Wherever you are in life today, God is calling you out from comfort, dormancy, and passivity into active participation in His fruitful work of salvation. I pray that you would take Jesus' invitation and experience the fullness of new life He has for you.